Ice
by ZusiIsOurKing
Summary: Natalia Arlovskaya has always known a life of solitude, until one day she decides to branch out and it changes her life forever.


Natalia woke up on a cold December morning. It was just another one of those days, getting out of bed, and going to her bathroom to get ready for another day. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, and saw the shower behind her and thought that even the soaps seemed lonely today. She noticed they were all in different places, and all of them were alone. She undressed, turned on the shower, got in and stood there thinking about how empty her life seemed. She knew that her love, Ivan, would always be there for her. However it was never in the way that she would desire it to be. There really was no way she would ever admit this to herself. She had her heart set on him ever since she was a small girl; he was kind, powerful, and loving. Even if it was impossible and it could never happen, there was little chance of her ignoring reality. She got out of the shower and dried herself off. She looked into the mirror but was not able to see anything through the steamy fog that corrupted her from seeing her face. "Oh, yeah. I guess I forgot to turn the fan on." she thought to herself as she went down to reach for a towel to wipe the condensation away. She started wiping it away, but stopped because she saw no reason to. "Ivan is away today anyways, there's really no point in me doing anything anyways" she said to herself. Her existence was a lonely one, she tried to put herself out there sometimes, but everyone seemed so uncomfortable around her that it was hard for her to believe anyone actually liked her. Lately, her contact with other people had been really limited, she saw Ivan a bit, her sister Katyusha, and a few other people that would stop by on occasion, but lately it seemed like that was just herself. She made her breakfast and turned on the radio to kill the deafening silence that plagued the kitchen. She noticed the fridge seemed empty, and she realized that she was running low on coffee. "I guess I need to go to the store today, if I want to eat dinner and everything" she thought to herself. She had to bundle herself up, and protect herself from the harsh winter. She had to protect herself from a lot of things lately, the winter, her feelings, her thoughts. She stepped outside and walked down to the store. The wind whipped her head around and her scarf did little to protect her from the icy taste that made her teeth chatter. "Stupid winter", she thought to herself. She saw a young couple kiss each other outside of grocery, "and stupid people, too" she added in her mind.

The grocery store in her mind was a mess. It was overcrowded and loaded with people who thought they were the sole people inhabiting it at that moment. The milk aisle was especially infuriating, as someone had to take forever deciding if they wanted two percent or skim. She got her coffee, and other things that she would need to be able to cook food for the next week. She was going to the check out counter and that's when she saw him.

"Hey Natalia" a familiar but annoying voice said to her.

"Oh, Alfred, it's you" she said sighing under her breath.

Alfred F. Jones did not have a good relationship with Ivan in her mind, and that made her a bit hostile towards the over-enthusiastic, over-confident man who stood before her.

"So how's it hanging Natty? You here to take advantage of the deals that they have in the butcher section today?" he said, looking very proud of his cart filled with various meats and unhealthy beverages.

"No, I was just getting things for the week. You know coffee and such." She said.

"Oh, you should totally come down to the Iron Boot tonight, everyone is going to be there and it's going to be so much fun. I'm so excited about it, we would all love to see you there, Natalia. You need to come out with us sometimes it's a lot of fun and…" he told her excitedly before being cut off harshly.

"No, I would rather not go out tonight." She said. She thought she said this nicely, but it still came out as really hostile.

"Oh", Alfred said nervously. "I mean, I'm sorry, I guess you had other plans, I feel sorry for intruding on them." He backed away and then went to another aisle.

"Good" she thought to herself, "I don't need to deal with that idiot, him and his childish antics. Why would I go out with the likes of him anyways, loud moron." she thought as she left the store.

Walking back to her house from the store, she thought to herself about what happened earlier. She thought about the lonely soaps and how quiet the house had seemed lately. She thought about Alfred and how she noticed that she killed all of the excitement in him. It was strange after all, that she could make him actually feel that shaken. She wondered if she was too harsh on him, after all he was just trying to be nice to her and see if she wanted to go out tonight. "Maybe, I should go out tonight", she thought to herself. "The Iron Boot is kind of far away though, and I don't know if I really want to be walking that far in this weather." She walked back to the house, and started to put her groceries away when she heard a knock on her door. 'Visitors, right around lunch time?" she thought to herself, "seems like a strange time to visit."

"Sister, are you home?" an all to familiar voice asked…

"Katyusha, is that you?" Natalia asked.

"You are so silly, now let me in." She said in a happy but impatient tone, trying to seek shelter from the frigid weather outside.

She opened the door, and in front of her was her sister, all bundled up with a cheery smile on her face.

"Hello, sister. What brings you here?" Natalia asked nervously, unsure of her sister motives. She seemed more cheerful than usual, so she was on alert.

"I got a whole day planned out for us! I was thinking we could play tennis and then we could go back to my place and change and go out to dinner and then get drinks and stuff. Come on, dinner is on me. I know you didn't have anything planned anyways and I know you could use it," said the excitable sister.

"I don't know" Natalia said.

"Come on, we could go to whatever bar you want" Katyusha said, "Please? The past few days have been boring for the both of us, it's time that we just you know relaxed for a while, relieve the stress, right?"

Natalia thought of Alfred and the invitation he gave her at the grocery store. She wasn't going alone now, and the thought of seeing him again did seem oddly intriguing. Plus she could keep her eyes on that weird Arthur guy, always intimidated by Ivan. Him and Alfred are pretty tight, and Alfred did boss him around a bit. If anything, it would make life a bit easier for Ivan.

"I guess, I could use it" Natalia said. "But we have to go to the Iron Boot."

"Oh, yeah I heard a everyone is going to be there today, I was going to suggest but I was unsure that you wanted to see so many people." Katyusha said.

"What makes you think that I wouldn't?" Natalia said.

"Well, it's just Ivan is not going to be there and…." Natalia then interrupted her sister.

"What makes you think my life revolves around him anyways?" she shouted.

"It's just" Katyusha struggled to find words that would not be insulting towards her sister. "The last few times you've gone out you kind of followed him around a lot. I know he's cute and all, but maybe you should give him a bit of breathing room." Katyusha waited for her sister to attack her, and probably reject the invitation for dinner now. She felt foolish, insulting her sister like that.

"Maybe you're right sister, or maybe with the way today's pages are written I'll believe you for now." Natalia said, uncertain about what the night held. "Do you want anything for lunch before tennis, I was about to eat right now."

Katyusha smiled, partially for the invitation for the meal and mainly because she managed to not die, "Of course! What were you going to make?"

"Just a simple soup, to warm myself up from the cold weather" Natalia got the soup cans out of the cupboard. "Nothing fancy."

"That sounds perfect.," the lucky sister said. She took her coat and scarf off, hanging it on a near by coat rack. "Should I take off my shoes?"

"Yes, after all you are staying for lunch," Natalia said. She was uncharactistically cheerful to see her sister. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the warmth of her house, but today for the first time in a while she was in a good mood.

"You need any help, sister?" Katyusha asked. "I could help you make grilled cheese or something?"

"You can if you want, but I can handle it by myself. After all you are my guest and I'm assuming your walk was exhausting. Go warm yourself up for a bit." Natalia said, in what to her sister was a creepy yet calming happy tone.

"Okay, I just feel bad not helping." Katyusha said.

"You can help by sitting down and relaxing," she said. "If you don't then you can't help me make the grilled cheese."

"Isn't that counterproductive?" Katyusha wondered out loud to her sister.

Natalia turned over to look at her sister, and then spoke in a sarcastically motherly tone. "Just ten minutes sweetheart, then you can help me to your hearts content."

"All right," Katyusha said laughing. "I'll just sit here for a bit. She played the role of daughter and pouted a bit, but failed because she was still laughing.

"Good, just let me start this soup." Natalia said smiling. For once, it seemed like today would be a good day.


End file.
